updated 08:12 pm EDT, Sat October 20, 2012

Industry expected to use UHD, Sony opts to differ

The Consumer Electronics Association has changed the name of 4K to Ultra High-Definition, or the shorter Ultra HD. The rebrand was put to a vote earlier this week, and the CEA's Board of Industry Leaders unanimously voted for the change, as well as minimum performance characteristics for the format.

The rebrand appears to be the same as the already-approved International Telecommunication Union standard, itself called UHDTV. Both require televisions that have at least a 3840x2160 resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio, though the CEA specification mentions that display products are required to have at least one digital input capable of carrying and presenting native 4K format video at the full resolution without relying solely on up-converting.

Though it is expected that most television manufacturers will use the Ultra HD term, Sony has confirmed it will not. In a statement picked up byThe Verge, it will use its own branding "to ensure clarity for consumers." Instead of UHD or the like, it is opting to brand its products as 4K Ultra High Definition (4K UHD).

4K is such a simple label. It gives the (approx) horizontal resolution, unlike the current 1080p/720p numbers. And the label easily extends to future 8K or 16K standards.

Now we're going to have HD, Full HD, Ultra HD, (and in future) Extreme HD, Mega HD, and Super HD. Eventually, QSHDwCF (quad super HD with comb filter). The PC "graphics adapter" names went this way, and turned into an alphabet soup. So much simpler to give a real (or near-real) number and call it a day.

How stupid are these companies? Consumers are already so confused with hi-def, super hi-def, etc. They have no clue as to what is what. Look at the marketing for cell phones - 4G - LTE, etc. - they don't have a clue as to which system is better - all the better for the companies that don't have LTE. If hi-def could be quantified as 2K, 4K, 6K, etc. consumers would have a hint of a clue that bigger is better. I hold out little hope for brain dead Americans to figure it out on their own.